UB student earns Oxford scholarship

University at Buffalo senior Philip Tucciarone woke up to a phone call from an unfamiliar number on a recent Sunday morning.

The caller, who had a British accent, left a voice message telling Tucciarone he’d just won one of the world’s most prestigious academic awards — the Marshall Scholarship, which will finance his pursuit of a doctorate degree in materials science at the University of Oxford.

“It was the most nerve-wracking 30 seconds of my life,” said Tucciarone, who will graduate in May 2014, of listening for news of whether he’d won.

It was life-changing news — for somebody who considered bypassing higher education all together.

Between the ages of 14 and 18, Tucciarone worked as a plumber’s assistant, a landscaper, a theatre set designer and a driller for a water well drilling company.

He’d considered simply taking a civil service test and finding a job, but with the help of mentors from Washingtonville HIgh School near Poughkeepsie, he applied and was accepted into several universities, including Columbia, Cornell and Buffalo. The latter offered him aid without the encumberance of work-study programs, allowing him to pursue his own academic interests.

So he enrolled in UB in fall 2010 and started fishing for opportunities to assist professors in high-level research, which led him to nanoscale and materials science.

Tucciarone has since co-authored and published two academic papers on his research in ACS Nano and Nano Letters, peer-reviewed journals published by the American Chemical Society.

As president of UB’s Honors Student College, he’s worked with inner-city students in Buffalo and founded an annual volunteer service trip to the Dominican Republican.

In 2013, he won the respected Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, which aims to foster more high-quality scientists, mathematics and engineers.

All of those accomplishments and accolades helped him win the Marshall Scholarship, awarded to 40 American students each year, at most, and widely considered one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world, according to UB.

Tucciarone said he’s interested in materials research because of its promise of remaining on the cutting-edge, rather than getting stuck in a discipline that falls behind the rapid pace of technology. He said he’s also fascinated by the real-world applications of high-level science.

“It’s advancing much more than the silicon industry ever did,” he said. “It’s a rapidly changing industry.”

Tucciarone’s impressive check list of attributes doesn’t stop at science and community service. He plays trombone and bass and is a starting winger on UB’s rugby team. He hopes to play for Oxford’s rugby team in the fall.

Tucciarone said he’ll take the summer off from work — his first break in years and his last for awhile. He’ll likely spend his professional life engaged in research and said he also has a passion for educating.